Netherlands Suriname stamps year 1945 Queen Wilhelmina National Welfare Fund MLH
That is an important and very timely issue in the history of Suriname’s postal service, marking the end of the German occupation of the Netherlands and the beginning of post-war recovery.
The Suriname 1945 Queen Wilhelmina National Welfare Fund issue was a commemorative series aimed at raising money for the reconstruction and social welfare efforts following World War II.
Here are the key details for this issue:
🇳🇱🇸🇷 Stamp Series Details
- Issuing Authority: Netherlands Colony of Suriname.
- Year of Issue: 1945 (Released in the months following the liberation of the Netherlands).
- Theme: Queen Wilhelmina and the National Welfare Fund (In Dutch: Cent voor het Nationaal Steunfonds – a cent for the National Support Fund).
- Set Composition: The issue consists of a set of definitive stamps that were surcharged and overprinted for the specific charitable fund.
- This typically resulted in a set of 15 stamps (or a smaller subset of 4-5) that used the existing Queen Wilhelmina definitive stamps (the ‘Gezicht/Face’ and ‘En Face/Full-Face’ types).
- Catalogue Information (Scott):
- The complete set of overprinted stamps is often listed in the Scott Catalogue as #193–207.
- One of the most notable stamps in this series is #193 (a 10c value overprinted).
- Design: The stamps are recognizable by the surcharge and overprint—small additional text applied to the existing stamps, such as “+… C. VOOR HET NATIONAAL STEUNFONDS” (an extra charge for the National Support Fund).
💰 Collecting Value
As a definitive set with a wartime-era overprint, this series is popular among collectors of Dutch colonies and WWII-era stamps, but it remains generally affordable.
- Complete Set (Scott #193–207, MNH): A complete set of the 15 Mint Never Hinged (MNH) stamps is less common than individual values. Dealer prices vary widely, but the full set is often priced in the range of $50.00 to $180.00, depending heavily on the precise composition, catalogue used (NVPH is the Dutch standard), and condition.
- Individual Stamps (Used): Used or cancelled individual stamps from the lower values (e.g., Scott #194) are very common and can be found for a few dollars each.
- Condition: The value is highly dependent on whether the stamps are:
- MNH (Mint Never Hinged)
- MLH (Mint Lightly Hinged)
- Used (Postally Used)
